Families displaced following Odenton apartment fire

Nayana Davis, The Baltimore Sun

A Friday morning fire has displaced some residents at an Odenton apartment complex.

At around 10 a.m., fire and smoke were seen coming from a third floor garden apartment unit at the Seven Oaks community in the 2100 block of Peaceful Way, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. It took 68 firefighters from Anne Arundel and Howard counties, Baltimore City and Fort Meade military base about three hours to get the blaze under control.

No injuries were reported, but fire officials said it's unknown at this time how many people will need to be relocated. Ten apartment units suffered damage. There was no immediate damage estimate or cause of the fire.

A spokeswoman for Fort Meade said at least five military families — three Army, one Navy and one Air Force — were among those displaced.

"It appears they have lost everything," said Mary Doyle, chief of media relations at Fort Meade. Base officials will help the military families find places to stay, and offer additional assistance as needed.

The American Red Cross and the apartment community's property management company were at the scene to assist all impacted residents.

Fire officials said the building was not equipped with a fire sprinkler system because of its age.